Municipalities in Pennsylvania are “creatures of the state,” and thus, have only those powers that have been granted to them by the commonwealth. One of the foundational statutes of Pennsylvania municipal law is the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code (MPC), 53 P.S. Section 10101 et seq. The MPC grants municipalities the right to regulate subdivision, land use, and zoning, and establishes the procedures and guidelines that govern local land regulation.

However, the MPC is just a statute, and what powers the state has granted, it can just as easily take away. A recent opinion from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court shows the dangers of relying solely on the MPC procedural rules when other statutes are also potentially in play and highlights the importance of understanding when the normal day to day protocols of the MPC may be superseded by other laws.

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